Painter IX Problem

[Shogmaster]

I don't know what happened to that old "Painter Poof!" thread, but maybe that's same thing you are experiencing.

I'm having a sh*t storm of Painter Poof! problems now myself. I think it's mostly when I click on a tool in the custom Pallettes. the damn program just goes poof! and disappears. It doesn't just close, but DISSAPEARS IN A FLASH! I just had one right now, and I'm so paranoid and pissed that I save every other stroke now.

This sh*t's getting really freakin old, and it's about time Corel own up to this really f'ed up problem in their product. Especially after they had the balls to raise the upgrade price from last version.

[DigitalShade]

That sounds similar, but not the custom palette part. The program just disappears but it's always when drawing. It does it even on default variants with their default settings. I haven't gotten through one picture without Painter disappearing. As a matter of fact I've gotten to the point where I hate to even try it now because it’s a major waste of time, even with doing multiple saves. I've had it corrupt the save sometimes too. ::sigh:: it's a real shame because I like the program but this makes it not very usable. I was hoping they would get rid of these problems in the current version.

[Shogmaster]

That sounds similar, but not the custom palette part. The program just disappears but it's always when drawing. It does it even on default variants with their default settings. I haven't gotten through one picture without Painter disappearing. As a matter of fact I've gotten to the point where I hate to even try it now because it’s a major waste of time, even with doing multiple saves. I've had it corrupt the save sometimes too. ::sigh:: it's a real shame because I like the program but this makes it not very usable. I was hoping they would get rid of these problems in the current version.

Your problem sounds far more severe than mine. Mine happens after at least 10 ~ 15 minutes of use if not longer.

Can you do me a favor and list the following about your set up?
-Windows or OSX?
-hardware configuartion, including type and amount of RAM, videocard, and CPU
-list of programs running simultaneously, including Anti-Virus and whatever.
-type of format files are saved as: .RIF or .PSD
-how many layers running during poof!
-type of brush used during poof!
-Anything else you can think of.

Thanks.

[DigitalShade]

Setup is:
OS- Windows XP
MOBO- Abit KV8 Pro
CPU- Amd 3200+
Video Card- BFG 6800 GT
Sound- Audiogy2 ZS
Ram- 1024
Anti virus- Norton
Layers- has happened on 1 and multiple
File types- has happened on RIF, PSD, JPEG, and GIF
Brush Variants- I use a lot of the default brushes. Usualy Oil- round camelhair,smeary rounf/flat, Pastel- soft variant or chunky, Acrylic-Captured bristle. had it happen with them on default setting as well as custom settings.
Programs running in background- Norton ghost, itouch, mouseware, ihatethiskey, trillian, microsoft antispyware, hp deskjet software, nvidia software, adobe version cue (but it's turned off).

[Shogmaster]

Setup is:
OS- Windows XP
MOBO- Abit KV8 Pro
CPU- Amd 3200+
Video Card- BFG 6800 GT
Sound- Audiogy2 ZS
Ram- 1024
Anti virus- Norton
Layers- has happened on 1 and multiple
File types- has happened on RIF, PSD, JPEG, and GIF
Brush Variants- I use a lot of the default brushes. Usualy Oil- round camelhair,smeary rounf/flat, Pastel- soft variant or chunky, Acrylic-Captured bristle. had it happen with them on default setting as well as custom settings.
Programs running in background- Norton ghost, itouch, mouseware, ihatethiskey, trillian, microsoft antispyware, hp deskjet software, nvidia software, adobe version cue (but it's turned off).

Interesting...... The only commonality between us is Norton, a Wacom tablet (I assume), and nVidia graphics card (GF3Ti500) + drivers.

I have:
P4 3.0C on Intel865PERL
4X 512MB PC3200 DIMMs
Win 2000
Wacom Cintiq 15X now and 18SX before (long story)
I only run Painter 9, PS7, and Norton Anti Virus (2005 I think) running in the background.

I really doubt all those other folks suffering from Painter POOF! are using Norton for AV, so maybe the culprit is somekind of wierd interaction between Wacom driver and Painter?



Maybe the Q to ask is if anyone running non-Wacom tablet is also suffering from "Painter Poof!"?

[DigitalShade]

Yeah sorry forgot to list the wacom Intuos 2 6x8. Well there has been a bug with the wacom pen getting confused with the eraser tip and becoming the main pen and staying that way til you change it for some time (I've had this happen on other machines besides my own). So it wouldn't surprise me. Oh hey just noticed there is a new wacom driver they put up on the 16th. I'll try installing it to see if anything changes.

[Somhairle]

I've been getting that "Poof!" problem too! while using the brush creator. every single time I close the brush creator, the whole program "poofs!" - not even a trail of smoke - Nada!

Although, when I re-open the program the variant is still there. so now, when I make a new brush, I minimize the brush creator and save the variant. and make a new brush if I need to. but the second I maximize that sucker (brush creator) and close it....

..."poof!"

[Shogmaster]

I've been getting that "Poof!" problem too! while using the brush creator. every single time I close the brush creator, the whole program "poofs!" - not even a trail of smoke - Nada!

Although, when I re-open the program the variant is still there. so now, when I make a new brush, I minimize the brush creator and save the variant. and make a new brush if I need to. but the second I maximize that sucker (brush creator) and close it....

..."poof!"

Crazy.... Everyone seems to have different things causing the Poof!

Also, I talked to a friend that uses a non-Wacom digitizer for Painter. He gets Poof! too.

We'll probably get to find out who killed Kennedy before we find out what causes the Poof!.....

[Shogmaster]

POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO "PAINTER POOF!"?

Check this out, guys. I talked to one of my buddies who haven't had "Painter Poof!" in over a year even though he uses Painter in every project he does! Apparently, he never creates a file starting with Painter!

For whatever reason, over a year ago, he started a Photoshop action that sets up a predetermined canvas size and several specific type of layers etc for all his projects. So he always creates his files in Photoshop, and then takes that to Painter to work on. Perhaps this IS the key!!

I tried this out just now, and after couple of hours, I still didn't see Poof rear it's ugly head! I usually get one in a less than an hour. But then again, I did this on my brand new Tablet PC with a brand new Painter 9 install. I gotta get back home and try it out on my workstation which has been knee deep in Poofery lately.

Please try this yourselves and let me know how it goes. DO NOT CREATE YOUR FILE WITH PAINTER BUT DO IT WITH PHOTOSHOP INSTEAD.

[ebrowning]

Shogmaster-
I'm going to try that right now- my version of "POOF!" is the most vile. It does it on save and utterly corrupts the image. Painter has plagued me with this across every version since 6, (large images, never seemed to be a prob with small images) and across multiple OSs. I have a mac g5 at home and a win2k workstation at work- same problem.

The fact that the image was created in painter really intrigues me- I have suspected over the years that something in the file itself caused the problem.

Since I am in the middle of a concept piece, I'll try rebuilding it in photoshop.

I wish adobe would buy painter- photoshop has never given me a drop of trouble. I just really like what I can do in painter.

[mhovland]

Another potential culprit to the problem may be Norton. I have read multiple times that Norton can cause issues with software, and disabling it can remedy the issues.

We use Symantic here at work, and I use PCillian at home, and I have never had any issues with Painter going POOF.

I wonder, of all the people with the POOF issues, how many are running Norton?

[ebrowning]

Interesting- I have Norton on my work PC and my home PC, but not on my Mac, which has also had the "poof" problem. I always assumed it had something to do with the riff format until recently when .PSDs were failing as well(created IN PAINTER).

I've been working all afternoon in painter with a file I "rebuilt" in PS, not a single crash.

Bottom line, shouldn't this awesome program be a bit more robust after like 15 years?? I REALLY like it- but when I get my Cintiq I may ditch it if I can find a way to work in PS (the Cintiq will simply allow canvas rotation, a major reason to work in Painter IMHO). And I've got ten years on this program- I don't really want to switch.

[Shogmaster]

Yeah. As I said earlier in the thread, I highly doubt it's Norton. Just like Ed with his G5, my Mac only friends are suffering from Poof as well. Norton just happens to be common to alot of folks' PCs because it's so popular.

Also I've been doing what my friend suggested for last few days, and I have not had any Poofs! Granted, I haven't had a real project in that time, so, none of them has been 25+ layer monsters that I usually get myself into. Nevertheless, we definitely have something here.

I was discussing Poof and Painter/photoshop with my friend some more yesterday, and there seems to be a big difference as to how Painter and Photoshop creates and treats the .PSD format. If you ever noticed, the same resolution PSD file with a bunch of empty layers created in Photoshop is often 1/5th or even less the size of one created in Painter. We think Photoshop treats transparencies as true alphas (as in nothing is there until a pixel is altered) where as Painter is giving each alpha pixel a value and data, even when there's nothing there. That's why a PSD file created in Painter is so much bigger. Each alpha pixel is adding to the size.

Often times, I go through all the PSD files created iin Painter, open them up in Photoshop, and alter the file just enough ("hide" a layer, then unhide) to save again, which saves me a tons of room on my hard drive.

We think it boils down to the fundamental difference in how the two programs approach layers:

For Painter, layers are just there to support the functionality of the "canvas" paradigm. With Painter, you are really meant to, at the end of the day, drop everything down to the canvas. You really aren't meant to keep 20+ layers going as you work. Layers are just there to increase some of the functionality and flexibility of the Canvas. That's reflected IMO why joining two layers is such a pain (select them, group them, then collapse them). Layers weren't really meant to be permanently kept seperately. Painter wants you to drop the layers down to the canavs as often as you can. Also, most of the brushes in Painter is opaque by nature (which results in white opaque edges even on layers), while most Photoshop brushes are happy to keep the edges perfectly transparent.

Photoshop on the other hand, is quite happy keeping complex layer schemes going. Adobe has always led all other programs in giving different functionality and capabilities to the layers before other porgrams (adjustment layers. layer masks, etc). Photoshop is really built around the layers paradigm, instead of defaulting everything to the background. Note how Photoshop is happy remember and respect which layer you were working on, while Painter likes to bring you back down to the Canvas every chance it gets.

I think Poof problem stems from the fact that Corel was forced by the market to increasingly adapt the layer capabilities of Photoshop into Painter, while Painter's core code is built around the canvas. It's definitely shoving a square peg into a round hole situation. Even though Corel hasn't got the grasp on how to get rid of the Poof!, the Painter users are asking for more and more of the Photoshop's layers functionalities to be added onto Painter with each new version. It's like adding more floors onto a house of cards. The foundation is flawed, yet they keep building on to the structure.... IMHO, the whole house will have to be rebuilt from ground up soon or later.

[ebrowning]

Excellent assesment- I think you're right on. Someone at work also pointed out to me that even if you create the psd in PS, would you not change it once you resaved in painter? Seems like you would. That method seemed to work for a few hours until...poof. What you're saying about the canvas paradigm really makes sense- I mean painter didn't even used to have layers at all. Just floaters, and if I'm not mistaken even those were a second generation add on (although I may be wrong on that). They've been very up front about trying to match some of adobe's standards, escpecially with the latest.

[Shogmaster]

We thought about that too, Ed. I think the reason my friend (also named Ed BTW) is avoiding the Poof for over a year is because his Photoshop actions create about 4 layers that he sketches on in Painter, but he does not create new layers in Painter. For him, Painter is just a glorified plug-in for Photoshop that he does line-art in.

I think as long as you remember to create new layers only in Photoshop, you can keep avoiding the Poof. I will be testing this theory out in the days to come.

[mdwsr]

Sorry shog, mine poofs even when I open a file totally created in PS. Seems to be most often on big files with complex layer masks, but that's not the only reason it poof's. Mine poofs under several repeatable conditions, and occasionally it gives me a random poof just to keep up the suspense. I can't believe they haven't fixed this yet, for what they charge for software they could probably afford to get NASA to fix it. I very rarely use mine now for lack of confidence.

[DigitalShade]

Well so far my luck with Corel has been a slow response from Tech Support. He's what they said for this problem.
Should stability issues occur when logged as a specific user, try creating a new user account with the same permissions and run the application. If the problem(s) no longer occurs, they may have been related to the specific user profile. For information on creating user accounts in Windows 2000 or XP, please consult the Windows Help files.

The first one didn't work and my question was closed as automatically solved in 48 hours.

Virtual Memory is used by Windows to swap information from RAM to the hard disk in order to free memory for use by applications when physical RAM is low. A paging file is used to accomplish this task. By default, Windows manages the paging file size and sets it to 1.5 times the amount of RAM on the system. This can be increased in cases where Corel Painter appears to slow as a result of graphic and object intensive documents, or causes the application to become instable. When setting the paging size, the max size should never exceed 2 times that amount of physical RAM installed on the computer. To increase Virtual Memory settings in Windows 2000 or XP, please consult the Windows help files.

If the problem persists, it is recommended that you call into our technical support center for further assistance.

I haven't had a chance to try Painter yet since tweaking the page file. I just got this email after reading the responses on this thread, but doubt this will do anything either. I'll let you know if it does though.

Hours of Operation
Mon-Fri: 9:00 - 19:00 EST

Phone Numbers:
North America
1-877-662-6735 ( $25.00 Per Incident )

What was the money for that I paid for the product if I have to pay $25 per incident for tech support! No wonder they are not doing anything they just want to milk their customers through tech support. You think they would be concerned that they are turning off customers with a bug filled product and a Lackadaisical attitude to fixing it.
Here is a picture I was working on that got corrupted. Everything was fine painting on it save and closed program and when I came back to work on it everything was messed up.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/DigitalShade/ConceptArtOrg/Example.jpg

[DigitalShade]

I think the corruption issue might be with the layers and dropping them. I discovered that if I dropped the layers in the picture it would continue to corrupt the image after saving. So I thought maybe I should try changing it to a PSD and dropping in Photoshop and bring it back to Painter. The saving corruption was not there when I opened it up to look at it in Painter. I'll mess with it some more later and see if it's still poofing.

[Shogmaster]

Sorry shog, mine poofs even when I open a file totally created in PS. Seems to be most often on big files with complex layer masks, but that's not the only reason it poof's. Mine poofs under several repeatable conditions, and occasionally it gives me a random poof just to keep up the suspense. I can't believe they haven't fixed this yet, for what they charge for software they could probably afford to get NASA to fix it. I very rarely use mine now for lack of confidence.

Oh my lord..... That sounds really bad (although "random poof to keep up the suspense" comment gave me a good chuckle). Damn it, I thought mayb we had a solution.

It still doesn't explain why I haven't had Poof in the last few days and why my friend is Poof free for well over a year though. What is it that bastitch is doing that's so special?!? I don't tend to use complex layer masks, but he does quite often (he is much more versed in all the complex layer techiques).

Maybe it is how we have the page files set up, like Digitalshade is saying. Even though my friend and I have virtually the same hardware and software set up, I know we set up the page file a bit differently. To think of it, my Windows page file might be exceeding 2X the RAM. I even have a seperate partition for Painter page file....

I'll go to my friend's place and check out his page file set up tomorrow.

[ebrowning]

Digitalshade-
HAH! Seeing your f****d up image is like some sort of vindication for me. I have a whole collection of crap like that- infuriating.

I haven't had a single crash today- I've been dropping the layers and pretty much sticking to the canvas. I created the initial file in PS, for what it's worth, but I think it has more to do with layers and always collapsing them.

Has anybody noticed that you'll be working for a good stretch (maybe months) without a problem, and then it's like the program gets increasingly unstable? I know of at least one crash bug where you have to reset the ui (and loose all of your customization) back to the factory settings to fix it.

[DigitalShade]

I got this email from Corel today thought it might be helpful to post. This Tech support person was more helpful. Only thing I don't understand is she says don't set your page file to more then 3 times the size of your ram and the other guy said 2. Oh well maybe one of these might help you with your guys problem.

Try the following to resolve the issues your experiencing. If this doesn't resolve the issue, you will be required to call into Corel's Technical Support at 1-877-662-6735. There is a $25.00 charge for this service.

I have included a few troubleshooting steps you can try to resolve this stability issue:

The first step in troubleshooting application stability issues is to determine and identify the source of the problem. Essentially, the problem is almost always related to a system or application variable and in some cases, related to the file itself.

1. Operating System
User Account
Should stability issues occur when logged as a specific user, try creating a new user account with the same permissions and run the application. If the problem(s) no longer occurs, they may have been related to the specific user profile. For information on creating user accounts in Windows 2000 or XP, please consult the

Windows Help files.

User Permissions
Running the application as a member of any other non-administrative group may be a contributing factor to stability problems. Try running the application as a member of the Administrators group to determine if the problems can be duplicated.

Video
Older video drivers can often cause a problem with Corel Painter IX as the application is demanding on video resources. Video problems are often corrected by downloading updated drivers from the manufacturers website. Hardware acceleration can also be reduced for the video driver to determine if the problems persist. To reduce Hardware Acceleration, do the following:

Double-click Display in the Windows Control Panel.
Click the Settings tab.
Click the Advanced button.
Click the Troubleshooting tab, then reduce the Hardware Acceleration slider to zero.

Fonts
While there is no set limit as to how many fonts can be installed in Windows 2000 or XP, for best performance it is recommended that only required fonts be installed at any given time. Having too many fonts installed can decrease performance and lead to font corruption. It is also recommended that TrueType and Adobe Type 1 fonts with the same name not reside within the Windows Fonts folder at the same time. Finally, checking for corrupt fonts periodically is also advised (corrupt fonts are usually zero kilobytes in size). These fonts must be removed from the Fonts folder in Windows.

Services and Startup Items
Certain background services and startup items may cause application stability issues, specifically services which scan the system for viruses. The easiest way to determine if services and startup items are at fault is to use MSCONFIG to disable these items (WINDOWS XP ONLY).

Click Start | Run | type MSCONFIG.
In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab. Click the Disable All button. Click the Services tab. Place a check beside Hide All Microsoft Services (this will hide Microsoft Services from view). Click the Disable All button. Click ok and restart the computer. Once the system has restarted, attempt to recreate the problem. If the problem no longer occurs, you must use a process of elimination to identify which service or startup item is at fault.

NOTE: In some circumstances, certain processes or start-up items may have been disabled to prevent conflicts when running Windows. Make note of which items have been disabled as re-enabling all items may cause system problems.

Temporary Files
Temporary files are used by applications to facilitate a number of functions, but are primarily used to swap information from RAM to the hard disk (and vice versa). Often when applications crash, these files are left in the Temp folder and must be removed manually. To delete temporary files, do the following:

Click Start | Run
Type the following and click OK: %temp%
In the window that appears, click Edit | Select All
With all objects selected, hit the delete key

NOTE: Certain files may not delete if applications which access those specific temporary files are open. If this occurs, simply reboot the computer and repeat the steps listed above, ensuring that all programs are closed.

Virtual Memory Options
Virtual Memory is used by Windows to swap information from RAM to the hard disk in order to free memory for use by applications when physical RAM is low. A paging file is used to accomplish this task. By default, Windows manages the paging file size and sets it to 1.5 times the amount of RAM on the system.

This can be increased in cases where Corel Painter IX appears to slow as a result of graphic and object intensive documents. When setting the paging size, the max size should never exceed 3 times that amount of physical RAM installed on the computer. To increase Virtual Memory settings in Windows 2000 or XP, please consult the Windows help files.

XP Themes
Certain XP themes have been identified as cause operability problems with certain versions of Corel Painter. Furthermore, Visual Effects require resources in order to function correctly, which may have an adverse effect on applications installed on the system. Disable Themes and Visual Effects to determine if the problems persist. To disable themes, do the following:

Click Start | Control Panel | Display
Click the Themes tab
Change the theme in the drop-down menu to Windows Classic
To disable Visual Effects, do the following:

Click Start | Control Panel | System
Click the Advanced tab
Under the Performance field, click Settings
Click the Visual Effects tab
Change the option to Adjust for Best Performance
Other Peripherals

Ensure that all the devices on the system have the latest drivers installed. Pen tablets, scanners and other peripherals should all be updated when the device manufacturer releases an updated driver.

Routine Maintenance
Routine maintenance is critical to ensure operation and performance of the computer is maintained. It is recommended that the drives on the system be defragmented, temporary files be removed from the system and a virus scan be performed on a regular basis.

Scan for Viruses
Viruses will often have an impact on the computers operation and will impede the functionality of many applications. It is always recommended to routinely scan the computer for viruses, ensuring that the latest virus definition file is used.

You may also want to set Painter IX back to default settings in case of corruption in the workspace: To reset the user settings to the factory default, do the following:

1. Hold down the Shift key while starting the application. A prompt will appear asking you to confirm that you want to restore the default settings.

2. Click Yes. Please note that your customized user settings will be lost as a result.

Note : This will erase all modifications including brushes, papers, textures and other customizations.

[mdwsr]

Shade - thanks for the effort. I wish these would work, but they did not for me. I have several files that caused my desktop to lockup (both .rif and .psd), so I tried installing Painter on my laptop. I got identical results on that machine. Two completely different machines, both WinXP, my desktop has 1.5G RAM and my laptop has 1G. Manufacture was about 1 year apart. Also, my laptop was brand new when I tried Painter so I know it's not system hacks, viruses, or corrupt fonts. I hope this helps you but for me I guess I'm gonna have to wait for the long ago promised patch. Too bad, I've used different Corel software in the past with none of these problems.

I also run PSCS, PSCS2, Blender, Wings3d, POVRay, Bryce 5.5, Illustrator CS, Paint Shop Pro 9.01, DPP, EOS Viewer, Artrage 1.1, Apophysis, plus all the normal computer stuff on both these machines and these apps very rarely ever fail. On my desktop I've also used the tryout versions of Softimage XSI, 3D Studio Max, and Alias Sketchbook Pro (Sketchbook is a very cool program, I want to own this one someday). No problems to speak of there either.

The problem is obviously with Painter.

[DigitalShade]

Yeah I hear you. I haven't had a single problem with any of the other apps or programs I use, it's only been Painter ::sigh::

[DigitalShade]

New Patch out for Painter guys head over to the Corel site and check out 9.1

[EdKhang]

We thought about that too, Ed. I think the reason my friend (also named Ed BTW) is avoiding the Poof for over a year is because his Photoshop actions create about 4 layers that he sketches on in Painter, but he does not create new layers in Painter. For him, Painter is just a glorified plug-in for Photoshop that he does line-art in.

I think as long as you remember to create new layers only in Photoshop, you can keep avoiding the Poof. I will be testing this theory out in the days to come.

Just wanted to clarify that I do in fact create new layers in Painter. I start a new file in Photoshop, save the file immediately (as a PSD, maximize compatibility), and then open it in Painter.

I think I have finally had my very first "Painter Poof". It may have to do with the popular "Ryan Church Copy, Paste, Drop" method. I have only recently tried that work approach.

I will start another thread dedicated to trying to fix this problem, or at least identifying what is causing it so that Corel can fix it.

-Ed

[EdKhang]

Try the following to resolve the issues your experiencing. If this doesn't resolve the issue, you will be required to call into Corel's Technical Support at 1-877-662-6735. There is a $25.00 charge for this service.

Services and Startup Items
Certain background services and startup items may cause application stability issues, specifically services which scan the system for viruses. The easiest way to determine if services and startup items are at fault is to use MSCONFIG to disable these items (WINDOWS XP ONLY)..................................................

Scan for Viruses
Viruses will often have an impact on the computers operation and will impede the functionality of many applications. It is always recommended to routinely scan the computer for viruses, ensuring that the latest virus definition file is used.

Anyone else notice the problem here? :rolleyes:

-Ed

[DigitalShade]

So far it's been great since the patch no problem. I only had it poof once and that was due to the brush getting larger then the PC could handle. I had increased the brush a small amount and the program thought I held the tablet pen down longer making it a size 798 or something. Luckily I was able to get most of it back by the script. Other then that no problems been very happy with being able to use the program again.
I just piant and make a new layer paint, don't know anything about Ryan Church's method.

[ebrowning]

POOF!

I patched, have had no problems, UNTIL JUST NOW, I'm working in a file 5-6 layers, corrupted on save exactly like before. Am I the only one? And this on the very day my Cinitq shipped! (After a 6 month wait in line, that is).

I'm attaching a jpg of the corrupted file-

[EdKhang]

POOF!

I patched, have had no problems, UNTIL JUST NOW, I'm working in a file 5-6 layers, corrupted on save exactly like before. Am I the only one? And this on the very day my Cinitq shipped! (After a 6 month wait in line, that is).

I'm attaching a jpg of the corrupted file-

What file format are you using? RIF, TIF, or PSD?

-Ed

[ebrowning]

PSD generally- I've had too many issues with rif in the past. But since I posted I've come to the conclusion that my PC may be part of the problem- it's going to be completely overhauled by the IT guys tomorrow. So after that I'll try again and see how it does.

[EdKhang]

Nah, I blame Corel. :p

Have you tried creating a PSD in Photoshop, saving it, opening it in Painter, painting away, hit "Ctrl + S", opening up in Photoshop to save as JPEG's, etc.

Try that and see how long till you get a "Poof".

-Ed

[ebrowning]

I've tried everything on this thread, that's for sure- and right now not only will painter go poof (and corrupt image) but anything even saved in painter no longer will open in my photoshop. Works fine on everyone else's at work, and even after removing and reinstalling photoshop the problem is still there. dll's or something are jacked somewhere. Anyway, the whole system is getting overhauled- I gave up.

I haven't heard anybody complain of the POOF since the patch (that sounded sort of Dr. Suess-y).

[Cometsoft]

There's a thread at concept art where Corel acknowledges some problems with the new patch and their ability to duplicate the crashes. Maybe it will be some consolation?

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46315

[ebrowning]

Hey cometsoft- thanks for the heads up on that other thread! Wonderful to find corel involved like that, gives me a lot of hope. I LOVE painter- and I don't want to give up on it.

Thanks again!

[tlaine]

A month or two ago I downloaded the trial version of painter 9. Did not have any problem whatso ever with the trial version. I liked it much better than painter 8 so I went ahead and purchased the upgrade. I figured I'd just be able to enter the serial number that came with my painter 9 disk into the trial and it would unlock the program. Well I couldnt get it to work, so I just uninstalled the trial version and reinstalled it via my disk, entered the numbers and it installed just fine.

Ok, so now to the real problem I'm having. I'm getting the Painter Poof now when I never did using the trial version. All I have to do is Open a file, and then open a few more files, and when I hit the "File" menu again, it will poof. It is repeatable, last time I did it i opened about 4 files and when I hit "File" menu it poofed. I've read a few of the painter poof threads and havent seen anyone having this poof problem with opening files but I didnt search it.

I just think it's odd that it never happend when I was using the trial version. :(

[ebrowning]

Tlaine-
go to the link above from Cometsoft, if you haven't already. I believe one of the Corel guys posted his email on there and was asking for any repeatable bugs- and said they were comitted to fixing them. The fact that yours is repeatable is great- do us all a favor and send it to him!

[Jinbrown]

The "Corel guy" is Corel Painter Program Manager, Rick Champagne. You can send detailed reports of Painter IX problems directly to him at:

rick.champagne@corel.com


Be sure to include all the details and steps leading up to the problem. They need all that in order to reproduce the problem and track down the cause, then fix it.


Thanks!

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.